Tuesday

Publicity Stunt: "Writer in Residence" at Heathrow International Airport

Writer Alain de Botton spent a week last month at Heathrow International, writing about his experiences, observations and thoughts on the busy airport from a desk in Terminal 5. His words were displayed, real-time as he typed, on a screen behind him. Public relations agency Mischief of London, the brains behind Heathrow's first ever "writer in residence", hoped to inspire branded conversations with the project. de Botton agreed to the idea after a strict "no-edits" policy was settled upon. As Dan Glover, a creative director at Mischief, explained, “If we funded a brochure that said how wonderful the airport was, people would switch off because they’d think they’re being marketed to." 10,000 copies of the final copy of de Botton's writings will be distributed to Heathrow travelers, and will later be available for purchase.